Southwest Florida Office

Meredith Budd

Meredith holds an undergraduate degree is in Marine Science and Biology from University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She earned her graduate degree in Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington. Her Master’s research focused on volunteer tourism and anthropogenic influence on wildlife conservation efforts.

Prior to joining us, Meredith worked at Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve as an Environmental Specialist II and, most recently, as an Environmental Policy Specialist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Meredith also spent several years leading volunteer programs for teenagers abroad, including sea turtle conservation programs in Costa Rica and marine and environmental monitoring programs in Fiji.

She is a graduate of the Leadership Collier Foundation’s Growing Associate in Naples™ (GAIN™) class and an active board member to the University of Miami’s SW Florida Canes Alumni Association.

Brief History of the Southwest Florida Office

In the early 1990s, the Federation recognized that in the coming decades Southwest Florida’s wildlife and habitat will be seriously threatened by growth creeping inland. To draw attention to Southwest Florida’s important role in the greater Everglades system, the Federation dubbed the area the Western Everglades.

The regional office, based in Naples, opened in 1994 with a mission to obtain comprehensive land use planning that forever protects large ecosystems and contributes to the recovery of the endangered Florida panther.

Goal 1:

Defend the Western Everglades from sprawling growth

Goal 2:

Protect native wildlife habitat using the endangered Florida panther as the guiding species

Goal 3:

Promote habitat conservation through public acquisition and landowner incentives

1. North Belle Meade, the largest tract of private undeveloped land remaining in Collier County, which has the last populations of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers on private lands in Collier County and is within the home ranges of at least two Florida panthers. North Belle Meade is just north of the Picayune Strand Everglades Restoration Project.

2. Private lands north of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge which provide important foraging and regional habitat linkages for panthers, bears and other imperiled wildlife.

3. Rural southeastern Lee County which is threatened by mining and currently has tenuous connections to regional conservation lands.

4. Rural Hendry County which provides the only pathway for panthers traveling north into central Florida. Hendry County is also important for helping to establish a breeding population north of the Caloosahatchee River and to providing an inland and northward route for wildlife seeking relief from climate change.

5. Rural roads which are a major cause of panther deaths and contribute to the loss of habitat. For such a small population, every road kill, particularly of a female panther, takes a toll on a population of 160 animals. Poorly designed roads can destroy or isolate habitat so it is not viable for use by panthers and other wide-ranging species.

How It Is Done

The Southwest Florida Office utilizes many techniques to influence public policy decisions and ensure implementation of those policy decisions.

Developing strong and broad based partnerships with those having similar and complementary goals.

Attending and providing testimony at public meetings on matters pertaining to rural lands, wildlife, and wildlife habitat. Repetition and persistence are important components of keeping the conservation mission before the elected officials, the public, and agency staff.

Participating in government-sponsored stakeholder meetings working on habitat and wildlife issues.

Litigating when necessary to ensure that wildlife needs are properly considered in land use planning and permitting.

Important Study Underway

The Federation recently contracted Dr. Dan Smith, noted Transportation Ecologist at the University of Central Florida, to undertake a two-year study of seventeen underpasses in Southwest Florida to determine the most cost-effective design. Dr. Smith was the lead scientist on the Federation-funded 2005-2006 Eastern Collier Wildlife Movement Study which identified road segments in need of wildlife crossings. The current study is the next step – finding the best designed crossing at the most reasonable price.

Unique Team

The stability of the Southwest Florida Office team has resulted in the Federation becoming a credible and influential advocate in the Western Everglades.

In May 2018, Meredith Budd joined the Florida Wildlife Federation as the new Southwest Florida Field Representative.

Nancy Payton has worked in the Southwest Florida Office since 1994, the year the office opened.

Franklin Adams, a longtime Federation board member and Collier County resident, is the “founder” of the Southwest Florida Office

For fifteen years, the Federation has engaged well-known environment, land use, and growth management attorney Thomas W. Reese to assist the Southwest Florida Office.

Dr. Dan Smith, University of Central Florida, continues to provide the Southwest Florida Office with expertise in wildlife biology, transportation, and land use planning.

Federation President Manley Fuller and his seasoned staff in Tallahassee offer important policy and administrative support to the Southwest Florida Office.